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Topic Review (Newest First)

06-13-2012 12:32 AM

beedee

Looks good, nice job on that riccia carpet!

06-12-2012 04:45 PM

BS87

Excellent Tank.

06-12-2012 04:28 PM

trenton

Great looking start so far! The riccia carpet is looking nice. I thought about doing a mixed riccia and HC carpet, but I think I will stick with just HC until I get the hang of things.

Subscribed!

05-31-2012 06:42 AM

vraev

Still battling some unknown combination of hazy + green water...but did a huuge water change: 75% ...and then a 50% one after the other. Almost lost a shrimp and a tetra due to water change. But luckily they look better now.

Removed the lily pipes which are full of algae and they are soaking in bleach until I get my brush. Using the stock eheim spray bar....I actually like it very much...ofcourse apart from the looks. I love the nice effect on the water surface. Soo beautiful.

05-21-2012 01:53 AM

vraev

Thanks very much. Although I am having issues with water clarity. There is almost always a slightly hazy look. its not crystal clear. My eheim has the standard media it came with (eheim 2213). Would u guys recommend anything to make the water more clear?

Thanks for recommendations. I thought the red plants require more micro ingredients and iron compared to typical ones like rotala. Does excel or flourish have everything in it? That would be economical as well.

thanks for the suggestions.

05-20-2012 05:11 PM

izabella87

Excel works pretty well for me. I mean even my anubias grow more than just 3 leafs a year.
Sexy tank !!!

05-20-2012 05:08 PM

jcgd

You could use flourish brand or any other brand. But they are the same as mixing dry ferts into water for yourself.

05-20-2012 07:41 AM

Chizpa305

Pretty tank, it looks very natural,

05-20-2012 07:15 AM

vraev

Here is the current tank. Been running for 6wks now. Slowly added fishes in the past 2 weeks. These are older pics...tank currently houses:

I started off with a basic idea of HC and riccia, but ended up wanting more colour so went with stem plants in the background. There are some plants in there that I can't wait to see them grow up. It looks a bit messy, but I am happy for what I have in store for my very first aquarium.

Some of the fauna:

I find that natural sunlight in the early hours when sunlight enters my apartment through the east facing balcony wall brings out the best colours in cardinals.

As the light gets stronger:

But must say, it is a bit of maintenance...my first layout without fauna (during the bacteria colonization phase was plagued by algae...hair, beard, BG algae..I lost over 30$ worth HC...down the drain literally). ...but the moment I started this new layout, I added SAE and shrimp which massacred the hair algae.

CleAning time:

Btw...any suggestions for fertilizers? I really don't want to bother with dry ferts...my first ever tank...want to do it simple without accidents with fish trying to eat the powder and dying. I use netlea substrate and root fertilizer. lighting is 4 x 24 watt T5HO for 25GAL. I am considering the PFERTZ mix. Plants include Ludwiga species, mermaid weed, rotala, HM, HC, hairgrass. I read that iron is needed for colour along with low nitrates. With my bioload in this tank, the nitrate can shoot to 30ppm within 3-4 days after water change. Ofcourse, plants are still establishing (1-2wks since planting).

04-13-2012 11:52 PM

vraev

Sounds good. The hard part is the store I got from basically only carries big pieces. Apparently you have to smash them up to get smaller peices. I understand that it helps in management and selling, but its a pain if the break doesn't happen the way you want it to. Anyways...will try again to find smaller pieces...if not, may have to get a similar coloured piece and smash it up myself.

04-13-2012 11:45 PM

IWANNAGOFAST

I think it looks nice, I'd maybe try standing the right side rock up more and get a bunch of smaller to medium sized pieces to kinda strew around the base of the 2 main rocks

04-13-2012 10:37 PM

vraev

25 gal ADA style Iwagumi (Ohko stone) Journal Starfire tank

Hi guys,

Here is my first aquarium.

The beginning:

Depicted in above pics is use of netlea brown soil substrate and netlea root fertilizer.

fill up with remaining media. Total used : 1 9L bag + a couple of cups of brown soil.

Front depth: 3" Rear depth: 6-7"

night lighting:

Time for suggestions:

What do u guys think? I have another bigger piece of dragon rock. Too flat...doesnt' look too good. So will return that and try to see if i can get two more smaller pieces to fill in.

I think its 'alright'...but nothing mindblowing. I plan on having a very minimal aquascape with basically only one or two species. The idea is to have one of those ADA style tanks...simple but beautiful.

Anyways...I will try getting some more smaller pieces of rock and see if I can add more "Bling" to the layout. Any suggestions would be welcome.